Circadian Rhythm
by SnakeNBake
Summary: Hermione was a simple no-nonsense sort of witch, she had her job as a respected Auror, a comfortable home, and one adorably grouchy cat. That's all about to change thanks to a group of terrorist hellbent on wiping out their wizarding communities long fought for peace. Now Hermione will be thrust into the world of pageantry, full of sparkly dresses and flashy costumes.*Slowburn
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Hermione Granger was a simple, plain, no-nonsense sort of witch. She gave little thought to whether or not she was stylish or alluring when it came to her job as an Auror, nor did she learn much on the dream of being married with children running around as the rest of her friends had at this point in their lives. Harry and Ginny, for example, were happily married with a few sprogs of their own scurrying about. Even Ron, after spending the better part of his early twenties buried between a plethora of woman's legs,-including her own, managed to settle down. He plunged into marital bliss last fall with Pansy Parkison of all witches; absolutely no one saw that coming. Yes, the last ten years flew by far quicker than Hermione had anticipated, and while she sometimes queried if she would change her mind someday and perhaps want to start a family of her own; she was content in her simple, plain, no-nonsense sort of life.

Hermione smoothed out the small wrinkles that were barely visible on her dark Aurors uniform and roughly brushed her thick frizzy hair into a tight and polished French twist. She then slipped on the navy work boots that were sitting against the wall next to her bedroom door, lacing the bulky shoes up tightly and proceeded towards the kitchen. Harry would be flooing by shortly and most likely scarf down any food she had laying around. She would find herself with an angry stomach growling loudly during an important meeting, again, if she didn't hurry and get a bagel in her. Crookshanks loud yowling brought her attention to the cranky feline perched on the counter. The tremendous orange beast was pacing the length of the marbled bar, apparently perturbed she was running a few minutes behind schedule, and his impatience was quite comical.

"Me first you spoiled thing, otherwise it will be dinner time before I manage to snag something to eat." Hermione tutted at the cat, who gave her a look that definitely said: "I don't think so human, wheres my food?" She rolled her eyes and sighed, reaching for her wand and setting about to having magic settle the issue. A few simple spells and the grouchy cat was fed proper, though he could use skipping a meal or two if Hermione were to be honest. She was grabbing for the bagels when the sound of the floo activating alerted her to Harry's impending arrival.

"Damn," Hermione muttered, quickly finding the jam and smothering the pastry with it before she promptly shoved the whole thing in her mouth.

"Merlin Mione, you're worse than Ron sometimes." Harry snickered whilst dusting off his robes, a lopsided grin on his face as he watched Hermione devour the bagel.

"Well, if you've been stealing his food like you do mine, then I completely understand the attitude he has towards eating when you're near." She snorted, uncaring of the smear of jam stuck to the corner of her lips or the crumbs spewing from her mouth.

"Hey now, I don't always..."Harry started, before realizing she was right and decided on addressing the particulars of the case they were working on instead.

"So the Miss Witch Pageant is definitely the next target. Unspeakables Chang and Thomas put together a solid profile from the evidence gathered during the last few attacks and of course with the help of you deciphering the last letter. They are talking about sending someone in undercover, " Harry plopped on the couch and let out an uneasy sigh, "though, with the brutality of the previous assaults, I'm not confident we have anyone fully capable of handling anything that may crop up during the investigation." Hermione considered his words carefully, taking in his tired demeanor she concluded he hadn't slept the night before, neither had she. This case had taken a lot out of the whole department; they were all running on fumes and swallowing down pepper up potions like they were candy.

Everything had started with a mysterious letter sent to the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, two years ago informing him that if the Ministry didn't pay a grand sum of ten million galleons, -an attack on somewhere of great import, would occur. They were given a timeframe of two months and a key to the Gringotts vault in which they were to deposit the funds. Every curse-breaker, unspeakable, Auror and anyone else deemed of great intelligence was brought in; not one person could discern the origin of the letter nor did the vault yield any clues. The goblins, unfortunately, were under an ancient magically bound contract that required their silence on information pertaining to any of the vaults within the crumbling walls of the old bank. The Ministry even resorted to using veriterserum as a means around the contract on one of the Goblin Managers; it proved fruitless, severing the relationship between Gringotts and the Auror department in the process. That foolhardy tactic had cost them everything, Harry's celebrity no longer held the same clout as before and even he was banished from the grounds, meaning no one would be able to stake out the vault when the deadline came. Therefore the entire Wizengamot was called forth, and a vote presented; the results read aloud to a silent Ministry: All those in favor of paying the ransom-26, All those against-30.

On the eve of the deadline, August 18th, 2006, the entire wizarding community held its breath as the hours of the day ticked down until midnight. At precisely twelve am, their peaceful world exploded once again, in the form of a potionized bombarda hurtled through the windows of the east wing on the fourth floor of St. Mungo's. It was the curse malady wing, Neville's parents died that night, along with so many others loved ones.

That was only the first of many devastating attacks and the culprits never requested a ransom again. Instead, the criminals opted for terrorizing them with clues and chances to avert the next strike. So far Hermione had been the only one to figure a few of them out, though always a little too late. After the last explosion took out 25% of Diagon Alley three months ago, they decided drastic measures were to be taken and enlisted the help of a few unsavory inhabitants of Azkaban to track down any leads in exchange for lighter sentences. While unconventional yes, it proved incredibly informative and they were able to chase down a few leads on members of the group the papers dubbed "The Obsidian Initiative." Leads that let them know they were near the end of the terror, but the finale was going to be undeniably a major catastrophe, and this was to be their last shot at taking the Initiative down.

The newest clue arrived two weeks ago. Hermione spent countless hours pouring over the cryptic note and was able to determine that the next target would be the Miss Witch pageant, which was to take place next month. An endless parade of vapid women seeking a pretty sash and tiara declaring them the fairest in the land was the ideal breeding ground for inflicting the most damage. The pureblood darlings and their stuck up families would all be in attendance; the pageant was the last place in the world they could show off their bigoted children. Sure, a lot of families had reformed after the war; such as the Malfoys. However many still clung to their archaic beliefs, and the pageant was the perfect place to showcase their"good breeding".

"What about Cho? She trained with us in the academy, so shes adept and..."Harry shook his head no as she was speaking and held his hand up to stop her.

"Cho is pregnant. She just put in her notice."

"What part of the pageant are they trying to infiltrate? Catering? PR? The Judges? That would help narrow down who is available? Surely Malfoy could go under with polyjuice like he normally does?"Hermione rattled off, not understanding the dilemma of finding someone capable of handling themselves under pressure.

"Well with such short notice, we are left with one opening for implanting someone. Polyjuice is prohibited, so no, Draco can't help here. Though that would've been hilarious to see." Harry chuckled to himself, Hermione was tapping her foot impatiently awaiting Harry to finish his report. Failing to see what was so humorous.

"What are you so chuffed about?"

"Well, someone has to go under as a contestant...so, Draco prancing around in a shiny dress and trying to be a beauty queen, painted a hilarious picture." Harry suddenly had an image of a non-polyjuiced Draco in a bikini with his balls hanging out of a flashy silver thonged bottom, and his laughter immediately ceased.

"Oh Merlin no, bad, bad, baddddd mental image there." He shook his head furiously, attempting to rid himself of the imagery.

"You're welcome," Hermione smirked.

"Oy, I hate when you do that!"

"Well if you were being professional and relaid the information without being a child, I wouldn't have to project such awful thoughts into your head."

"Says the witch using her unnatural skills in Legilimency to fuck with her friend's heads."Harry muttered under his breath.

Hermione suddenly realized what Harry said about needing a contestant and shuddered, she knew where this was going and began glaring at him. Harry shrank down into the couch and smiled up sheepishly at her; there was a reason he came over this morning instead of waiting to talk to her at the meeting later on today.

"It was not my idea, just so you know," Harry threw his hands up in defense as the intense scrutiny of her gaze was making his skin crawl, "Draco is the one who ran a simulation spell on all the files of available and capable witches at the Ministry. You, my most beautiful and brilliant friend...was at the top of the very thin stack of possibilities."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up incredulously. The brunette witches breath hitched in her throat, and the look she leveled at him was vicious enough to make Harry's blood run cold. His heart began pounding in his chest so loud the erratic thumping was echoing in the silent home; Tom Riddle had nothing on a pissed off Hermione Jean Granger.

"Well," Hermione seethed, walking towards the fireplace and grabbing a handful of powder from the silver canister on top,"Let's go have a talk with Auror Malfoy about this little discrepancy."

"Auror Department, Level 5." Hermione practically growled, before disappearing into the dark flames.

"Salazar save Draco."Harry gulped, following behind Hermione and stepping out into the busy Lobby of the Ministry's Auror department.

The entire crowd of various Aurors and Ministry employees noticed the way she was stomping towards them and practically dived to get out of the angry witches way. Hermione was wearing her "I'm going to kill someone in a slow and tortured manner" look, and no one wanted to be in that line of fire.

Harry was hurrying behind her and trying his best to somehow get a message to the man with whom her current quarrel was with. He thought he finally snuck a Patronus charm past her, but the blue stag didn't go unnoticed, and Hermione merely quickened her pace in response.

Draco stepped calmly out of his office after the shimmering stag had informed him of Grangers impending arrival, a smug grin on his face and awaited with glee the onslaught of witty insults and death threats. He and Granger had danced this dance plenty of times before, and this time he had already gotten his way. He slid a folder from beneath his arm and triumphantly presented it to the red-faced Hermione when she finally reached him. "Read," He demanded before she had a chance to berate him in front of the growing crowd around them. Hermione ripped the folder from his hands and stared down in horror,"You arrogant nob headed son of a Hippogriff, you already got this approved!?" She screeched, baffled that the uppity git had received Shacklebolt's seal of approval and official orders that she enter and compete in the Miss Witch Pageant.

"I am absolutely not going to do this!" She shoved a finger hard into Draco's firm chest, and he winced a bit at the petty assault.

"Well, if you want to skirt on your sworn duty to protect the citizens of Wizarding London, and that Gryffindor bravado will allow you to not put forth 100 % then by all means, make my day Granger and run away like a little Hufflepuff." Draco loved pushing her buttons, the fire in her eyes when she was thrown over the edge of reason by his words were what he lived for every day, an unhealthy obsession if you will.

"I've never hated someone as much as I hate you, right now."

"I'm touched, truly."

Hermione moved to turn around and take her grievance to the Minister himself when Draco caught her firmly by the arm and stopped her. "If you don't want to lose that hand, I suggest you remove it post haste." She demanded, and the ballsy Slytherin only tightened his grip. "You are heading to cause a scene in the Minister's office, and he is meeting with the families of the victims from the last attack right now. They don't need to deal with your self-righteous speech about not wanting to wear a tight dress and skipping around the stage as if you have talent right now."

"Don't touch me you cretin."Hermione gritted out, managing to wiggle her arm from his grip and continued stomping towards the Minister's office. She wasn't heartless. She would simply wait till after the families left to lay into the pinhead who thought it wise to assign her something before a consultation.


	2. Chapter 2

Minister Shacklebolt gently placed a hand on a visibly distraught Mrs. Greystones shoulder and assured her of the efforts the Ministry was making towards bringing the people responsible for her husband's death and the destruction of their cauldron shop to justice as he opened the door to his office and led the trembling witch to the lift.

Hermione had been waiting for nearly an hour; sitting outside his office impatiently fidgeting with her uniforms buttons. She'd now heard Kingsley give the same speech to four separate families and quickly became tired of the empty promises he was proclaiming. Her annoyance was somewhat against the typical bleeding heart syndrome she adopted when it came to her cases, but she had been stretched so thin the last few months; near the point of madness as she tried desperately to solve this particular one. Each time Kingsley emerged from his office and walked another family to the lift Hermione could see the fear in his eyes as he passed by her still waiting form. He knew how she would react and was avoiding her by lengthening his usual fifteen-minute meetings for an extra ten minutes each, clever bastard.

"Okay, Hermione, let's get this over with." The minister sighed defeatedly when he returned, leading the perturbed witch into his office and offering her the chair seated in front of his desk.

"I'd rather stand." Hermione replied, she was trying hard not to blow her stack completely, she knew he was desperate, but Kingsley had promised her long ago that she was to have full say in her involvement during any investigation. The fact that the Minster had also sided with Malfoy was fueling her fury even more.

"You promised."

"I know, but my hands are rather tied here. Auror Malfoy made valid points for your nomination, and I have to agree that you are our last hope for bringing the O.I. to justice."

"Oh, I'm sure he dazzled you into submission with little effort on his part at all."

"Now Hermione, I didn't make this decision lightly. I knew you would take issue with the assignment and decided to incur your wrath regardless. The Ministry and all of our magical community is dependant on this undercover job, and you are the only one I trust to achieve it."

Hermione folded her arms in front of her chest and tipped her head to the side before looking up towards the ceiling; the man was making sense and her argument she'd prepared quickly fizzled out.

"Yes, well, be that as it may. You still should have consulted with me before agreeing with Malfoy behind my back. You gave the git the illusion he has some sort of power over me now, and he will be completely insufferable."

"Then maybe you should go ahead and sit down while I read you the parameters of what this job will entail."

Hermione was mad-no that word didn't quite capture the emotions coursing through her body.

She was fucking furious, not only had Malfoy convinced the Minster to assign her the job, but he also enlisted the help of his mother to try and mold her into a perfectly poised pageant girl. This little detail had chased her out of Kingsleys office and down the corridor to the lift that led to the Auror department. She was going to skin that snarky Slytherin alive and hang his flesh from the Gryffindor tower at Hogwarts with a pretty little sign attached that read "here lies Draco Malfoy, he who royally fucked up and pissed off Hermione Granger."

"He went home for the day already."

Hermione was furiously banging on the outside of Malfoys office door and shouting obscenities for nearly five minutes before Harry had managed to get through her feudal state and inform her of Dracos absence. She hadn't realized that her meeting with Kingsley had gone on for an entire two hours before Narcissa's name and role came up.

"Fucking coward, he has to be at the meeting tonight, so if Malfoy thinks that's going to save him from me ripping his heart through his arsehole he is sorely mistaken." She replied, turning away from the door and walking towards her own office. Harry followed behind with his head hung low, thankful Draco had left. There had already been three Granger-Malfoy showdowns this month alone and the whole department was growing weary of the tiresome duo.

"Malfoy's really lost the plot this time Harry. He has managed to talk Kingsley into enlisting the help of Narcissa as my pageant coach!"

Harry whistled low at the revelation, Draco wanted to die before he was thirty it would seem. The damn bloke had a set of balls on him the size of the whomping willow.

"I mean who the hell does he think he is? He is even gunning to be my partner for this, each contestant is allowed an escort, and he wants that to be him. Obviously so he can fuck with me even more, I swear after this case is done I'm going to throw him into the Black Lake and let the Squid eat his sorry arse for breakfast!" She slumped into her chair and let her hands fall limp over the armrests, Hermione wasn't in the mood to even exist at the moment. Harry could see why she was angry but knew his passionate friend would soon conclude that while Malfoy had gone about it the wrong way, both of them would be the perfect fit and were the best option to take the Obsidian Initiative down permanently. Harry waited a few minutes before trying to strike up a conversation, looking for signs Hermione had calmed a bit first.

"I know you know no one else could do this."

"I do..., doesn't mean I have to be all gung-ho about it. Malfoy does this every time, and I swear his only goal in life is to torture me."

"To be fair, that is also your only goal in life as well, just the opposite way with you doing the torturing."

"Ha ha ha, though noted."

When Hermione had learned that Malfoy was joining them in the Academy shortly after Hogwarts return year wrapped up, she was highly skeptical. He had been quiet and reserved during that eighth year, and had made no attempts to make amends for being such a horrid bastard, at least not with her. Harry, however, had become fast friends with the snake and nearly caused an all-out civil war between Ron and Ginny. Ron hated Draco at the time and would most likely always will in some way; Ginny agreed with Harry about second chances and made an effort to befriend the outcast. Hermione kept her nose stuck between the comforting pages of her trusty books and paid little attention to the political atmosphere at the time. She just wanted to finish her N.E.W.T's and graduate at the top of her class as she had always intended to, before the rise of Voldemort squashed the previous opportunity. Now, he was a damn fine Auror but a right royal pain in her arse. She didn't know why they fought like cats and dogs on the daily, but it had been this way since the start of that first year as Aurors. Harry got the brunt of the drama though, he was friends with both parties and often found himself unceremoniously drug into the middle of their petty fights.

"So, have you thought about what Ginny asked?"

"Really, Harry? You think now is the time to discuss your wife's meddlesome habits?" Hermione could hear her friend nod his head and groaned her answer,"No, I have not thought about letting her set me up with Charlie. She needs to let go of this being my sister-in-law business. I've told her countless times' she's already my sister, especially after she tried to throw a half-naked Percy at me during Ron's wedding!."

Harry recalled the image of a shocked Hermione trying to navigate a drunk Percy's advances whilst not hexing him and a giggling Ginny into oblivion and couldn't keep the laughter at bay. "You remember that corny line he used!?" He guffawed, uncaring of the snarling Hermione's growing contempt for discussing the matter at all.

"Hey you, you're pretty. Here's my shirt, can I have yours? Fred spewed pumpkin juice all over his date when he heard Percy try that one out!" Harry continued between gasps of laughter, Hermione allowed a small smile and threw a wadded up piece of parchment at Harry's head.

"Oh shush it, it wasn't that funny."

"Oh yes it was, Molly almost had a coronary when she found Percy passed out starkers in the garden wrapped in Oliver Woods arms!"

"Well maybe he shouldn't have been so aggressive in his attempts to bed me, and I wouldn't have made him think Oliver's name was Susie..."

"HA! I knew you mindfucked him; poor sod couldn't remember a thing and Oliver shags anything with a pulse, so he didn't care."

A soft knock at her door brought the conversation to a halt, Luna's serene voice accompanied it, "Hermione, I need to speak with you about that bowtruckle case you worked on last month."

"I have to take care of this, but I will see you tonight at the meeting. I've decided the best way to deal with Malfoy this time, is to hit him where it really hurts. I'm just not going to talk to him unless necessary, and I'll pretend he doesn't exist the rest of time." Hermione snickered, she knew Malfoy thrived on the attention and if she had to drink a silencing potion to keep her words locked within, she would. Harry breathed a sigh of relief that there wouldn't be a bloodbath tonight and proceeded to exit Hermione's office, offering a quick "Hello," to Luna as he passed.

Hermione collapsed against her bed and buried her face into the soft pillows before letting loose a banshee-like scream. The meeting that night had been a nightmare. She'd successfully fielded any insults or clever quips Draco used to solicit a rise out of her, but that didn't mean it'd been easy. Harry helped, he answered most of Malfoys questions for her and softened the tension when he was able to campaign, successfully, to be her escort in place of Malfoy. Other than having to set up a place and time for meeting with Narcissa the next day, she wouldn't have had to speak with Malfoy at all. Of course, by that point he was amped up on her ignoring him and had practically demanded she join his mother at the manor, a place she let him know real quick she was never setting foot in again before stomping off towards the nearest floo and heading home. That had been a mere five minutes ago, and she hadn't a chance to cool down yet. How insensitive could the fucker be to actually think after being tortured there, she would ever dare revisit the grounds!

She heard a sharp tapping at the window of her room and looked up to see a regal snowy owl pecking at it. The creature had a small scroll between his talons, and ever the curious, Hermione rose to retrieve the mysterious bird's parcel. It was an invitation from Narcissa Malfoy, asking Hermione to join her for tea at The Elephant Room, a posh restaurant within the golden district of Wizarding London and one of the fancier establishments their community had to offer. There was nearly a four-month waiting list for a reservation, so Hermione instantly wondered whose palms were greased or who was just uninvited from Narcissa's original plans for that day. Either way, Hermione found she was glad the Malfoy matriarch had taken it upon herself to rectify her sullen sons ignorant suggestion of a manor meeting. She jotted down her rsvp and sent it back with the awaiting owl, who nearly bit her fingers off when offered a biscuit; guess the Malfoy owls were just as prickly as their owners.

A/N: I forgot to add this to the first chapter! I know it's been awhile and I assure you all I am working speedily to get that next chapter of Hidden Traits, I lost all my notes when my labtop was stolen and it's taken a while to save up for a new one and recover everything lost! I do hope everyone enjoys this new story!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Hermione arrived at The Elephant Room a few minutes ahead of schedule and was immediately greeted by an overly cheerful Hostess who was dressed far better than her modest jeans and loose blouse. The posh witch asked her name and when Hermione answered the young woman's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "The war hero?" She asked with an excited shrill, clapping her hands together feverishly. Hermione gave a small nod "yes" and a tight smile, "Wow! Now all three of The Golden Trio have dined at our establishment!" Harry and Ron have been here? They never said anything. Hermione pondered this to herself while the Hostess finally checked the reservation registry for her name. "Mrs. Malfoy is already waiting for you Miss Granger if you would please follow Neil here, and he will guide you towards your table."

"Wh-," Hermione started to ask who Neil was when a small puff of smoke appeared and a handsome man in a genie costume with an elegant name tag reading "Neil" appeared beside her. He escorted her through the ornate archway to the left of the Hostess stand, and towards a broad set of obsidian doors, almost twenty feet high and nearly as wide. Hermione looked on fascinated as the young man stopped in front of the entryway and systematically tapped a few diamond encrusted stars that were scattered across the doors in swirling and intricate patterns. As they began to open Hermione examined the doors closer and saw the stars made up the constellations for which the various Black family members were named. That most certainly wasn't a coincidence. Hermione was now of the assumption that Narcissa had her hands in this cookie jar too; it seemed the Malfoys reach was farther than she had first thought.

"Your table is this way Miss Granger, please watch your first step there. It's a bit of a doozy," Neil commented when he took Hermione's hand, leading her through the doors and unto a golden platform where he helped lift her up onto a mysterious cloud-like substance. Hermione's sneaker-clad feet sunk into the softness of the milky vapors and she couldn't keep her mouth from hanging open at the splendor of it all.

"If you would please just follow the fairies, and they will take you the rest of the way. I do hope you enjoy your dining experience here at The Elephant Room."

Hermione was a bit confused at first and made to call out towards the retreating form of Neil until a small glimmer of gold and silver zoomed across her periphery. She heard a soft buzz behind her and turned to see a gaggle of Irish Fairies beginning to encircle her, their tiny hands beckoning for her to follow them. They were smaller than the traditional fae folk, and their shimmering wings highly sought after for their various medicinal purposes. They were also on the endangered & protected list, having been relocated by the Ministry to a reserve in their native land just last year. How the restaurant had managed to get the permits for having them here was something Hermione was going to look into as soon as this meeting was over.

Awestruck and entranced by the magical galactic murals along the way, Hermione practically floated her way towards a grand staircase leading down into a majestic ballroom. The place below was filled with white marbled tables covered in luxurious ebony silk tablecloths; seated at these tables were various high-class Ministry officials, Celebrities, and pureblood socialites. In the very center of the ballroom was a long amethyst dining table, with large citrine, crystalized wingback chairs, and an awaiting Narcissa Malfoy. It was a stark contrast to the black and white cocktail theme that was present throughout the restaurant below. Hermione gathered Narcissa wanted something that was purely hers, or she just wanted to showcase how far above the rest of the ordinary folk the Malfoys truly were, even in an already extravagant place. The fairies that led her here vanished as stealthily as they appeared once Hermione reached the edge of the staircase. As she began to descend she saw at the foot of the stairs another sharply dressed waiter was waiting for her; he bowed curtly when she reached him and then waved a hand in the direction of Narcissa. Hermione nodded her head and mumbled thanks before setting off towards her doom; she was not looking forward to this at all.

"Hello dear, thank-you for joining me." Narcissa cordially addressed her when she made it to the table. Hermione was a bit leary and merely nodded her head at the elegant witch and sat down in the heavy chair only magic could have possibly pulled out for her. "I don't particularly have a choice here."

"I understand. My son was adamant you were in dire need of assistance, and I would have to agree." Narcissa scrunched her nose in disdain as she took in Hermione's untidy appearance. Hermione scowled at the witches obvious scrutiny. "Oh sod off, I didn't ask to be your pet project here." Narcissa seemingly unfazed reached into the expensive handbag beside her and pulled out what looked to be an ultimate pageant manifesto. "Now as you are aware the pageant is to take place next month. There are to be four portions of competition: formal wear, charms, dueling, and lastly, there will be an answer and question round in which the Judges have selected their own questions to present to each contestant." A satin gloved hand flicked through the pages of the large binder and settled quickly on a page titled "Posing Pretty and Proper" before sliding the book towards Hermione's curious hands. The entire page and the whole damn book read like a how-to on not being Hermione, with vivid diagrams showcasing how not to slouch in a low back chair; where to place your hands once seated without appearing bored or too busy. Where to cross your legs-always at the ankles with your knees bent in a 35 degree angle- and seem the most ladylike.

"I've taken the liberty of ordering for you already. You must start watching your figure now as we have so little time to trim you down proper." Narcissa stated after a few minutes of Hermione studying the material she had handed her.

"Are you calling me fat!?" Hermione asked incredulously, barely able to contain herself from lunging across the table to strangle the woman. "I'll have you know I'm only a Stone heavier than I was at the end of Hogwarts!"

"Don't be so dramatic child." Narcissa reached for one of the lace trimmed napkins from a silver plated holder, opening it gracefully and placed it primly on her lap, "I am only suggesting that those you will be competing against will be of a smaller frame than you and unfortunately that still matters in these circles."

"Not my circus, not your monkey. I'm not going to starve myself to squeeze into some hoity-toity fancy dress." Hermione took a small sip of her water before adding, "I'm also not wearing any heels over three inches, so you might as well not even start down that path. You can hang up the notion of going anywhere near my hair while you're at it."

"I have no idea why I agreed to this, Kingsley practically begged for my help, and you are incredibly ungrateful and needlessly obstinate." Narcissa huffed, tucking her hands neatly under each other and sighing dramatically. "The Greengrass sisters have been pestering me to coach them for months, and I'm positive dealing with those simpering dolts would've been favorable to your sour disposition."

Hermione rolled her eyes and continued studying the pageantry book, her eyes widening at the extremes some women went through in the search for societies approval. Who in their right mind would wrap their torso and waist in such confining attire, all in an effort to appear as what they deemed more desirable? Not this witch. No way. Hermione was willing to try somewhat to achieve a more appealing exterior, but she was going to remain breathing while doing it.

"Look, I'm not trying to be difficult, but I've spent my whole life just being simple old me. I'm not about to submit myself to whatever obvious horrors you've cooked up for me so I can look like this." Hermione threw the book to the table and let the pages settle before pointing at a picture of a dolled up witch being handed a large bouquet of roses and having a sparkling crown placed upon her perfectly straight and shiny hair.

"It's only for a short time Miss Granger. I assure you, once the pageant is over and this nasty business with the Obsidian Initiative is taken care of you can go back to being this." Narcissa said as she waved a hand at Hermione's current state of dress. "For now though, if you expect to make it through to the final five and ensure you are involved in and have investigated every avenue of the pageant then you will have to let me do what I do. I daresay you may even win, I saw your picture from the Yule Ball, and you were quite fetching."

"Fine." Hermione conceded, better to just cooperate and get it over with and she did desperately want to bring the O.I. down for good. "Wait where did you see my Yule Ball picture? I made sure they stayed out of the paper."

"Oh, Draco had some old pictures in a book I found when his room was cleaned out after he moved from the manor. It was one of you and that Krum fellow dancing."

"Why would Draco have that?"Hermione wondered aloud. She missed the mischievous glint in Narcissa's eyes and continued to be stumped as to way Draco would even bother hanging on to that memory. Fourth year was the year everything really went arse backwards, and she couldn't imagine why Draco kept it. Maybe to torture her later with here poor choices in dates.

"We also need to work on your table manners it would seem. I believe you have more of your lunch on you versus in you! My word dear girl keep your mouth closed whilst eating!" Narcissa scolded her when their food arrived a few minutes later, and Hermione promptly shoveled the chicken caesar salad into her mouth in huge forkfuls. She had missed breakfast this morning thanks to a nervous stomach and was starving.

"Sorry." She mumbled," I didn't eat breakfast, so I'm a bit hungry."

They sat in companionable silence while they both enjoyed their lunch, Hermione was still hungry after scarfing down her salad and summoned a waiter to bring round a dessert cart, Narcissa tutted a finger at her and shook her head. "A minute on the lips and a lifetime on the hips my dear."

"Then I guess I'll have to really savor that minute, eh?" Hermione countered and promptly selected a slice of cherry drizzled cheesecake and rich chocolate mousse covered with caramel sauce and whipped creme. She saw the hungry gleam in Narcissa watchful eyes and snickered to herself, wondering how long its been since the older witch had tasted anything with this many calories.

Narcissa, however, was secretly pleased with the backbone Hermione possessed and could understand why her son would be fascinated with such an understated beauty. She initially agreed to this as a favor to Kingsley, however, after investigating further she saw the potential matchmaking endeavor. Too long had she watched as her son ran through witch after witch; all model thin and picture perfect but none possessed an ounce of intelligence, nor the passion that this witch in front of her could wrench from her spoiled son. Narcissa even had a productive chat with Harry Potter this morning and managed to wrangle him into her crazy plans as well; he was currently ensuring that Draco becomes Hermione's escort for the pageant. Which they would hear about very shortly, Narcissa wanted to gauge Hermione's reaction to the news and made arrangements accordingly.

"Miss Granger?" Neil appeared beside their table holding a golden platter with a letter on top, "You have urgent news from the Ministry, I was asked that you receive this as soon as possible."

Hermione anxiously reached for the letter and ripped it open, sending the remnants of the wax seal flying everywhere. She quickly scanned its contents and at the end of the message childishly stomped her foot and groaned loudly.

"Your son is a slippery little ferret." She gritted out. Harry had been assigned on a new case, one that required his extensive knowledge of parseltongue,-so as such, the next best Auror was assigned as her escort. That was, of course, Malfoy. Bugger it all.

"How so?" Narcissa asked innocently.

"He has one purpose in life and is absolutely excelling at it." Hermione stabbed her fork into the cheesecake as hard as possible and nearly bent the prongs back. "As if this wasn't hard enough, now I get to deal with his smart mouth too. Oh, what joy." She shoved a considerable portion of the sweet dessert into her mouth and continued to grimace, mumbling to herself between bites. Narcissa was able to make out a few words,-git, slimy, no good, and various other obscenities she didn't wish to ruminate on, but she could also tell Hermione doth protest too much and Narcissa was suddenly eager to begin the next phase of her plans.

Hermione was steaming mad at the end of the lunch/meeting. She hastily agreed to meet Narcissa again at some dance studio in London the following Tuesday to begin "Lessons" and rushed out of the restaurant, quickly making her way towards Harry's office in the Auror department. She knew it wasn't his fault but she had to vent to someone and Ginny was liable to try and fix her up with one of her single brothers for the umpteenth time, and Hermione just wanted a drink and to commiserate with someone over her rotten luck. She found the nearest apparition point and landed in front of the massive Ministry of Magic building, it had a significant makeover after the War, and it now resembled a majestic greek temple. Hermione climbed the steps leading to the doors and practiced her controlled breathing exercises the therapist told her would help defuse an impending state of fury, passing many of her colleagues along the way and offering them the customary hellos and how are you's. She didn't notice Harry sneaking out beneath the cover of the crowd. He wasn't sure what he did was really in the best interests of Hermione, but Narcissa had made some damn excellent points about why his two wayward friends were so combative, and now he was ultimately curious. Harry had a horrible time lying to his friends, so he was ducking out before Hermione was able to question him about anything.

Hermione arrived at Harry's office and was disappointed to find it empty; she desperately needed to talk to someone. Just as she was closing the door, she spied Luna exiting the lift and called out for her. Luna had shouldered many a rant from Hermione and was always incredibly understanding; she was also one of the solicitors on the case, and Hermione wouldn't have to censor the details pertaining to her current predicament. Luna smiled and waited patiently for Hermione to reach her, "Hello Hermione. I see you've been drinking that elixir I made for your skin sprucks, you're practically glowing!"

"Um, Yes I sure have." Hermione hooked an arm through Lunas and walked her towards her office,"Do you mind having a chat with me? I'm having a rotten day and need to talk to someone."

"Of course! I just need to give Auror Malfoy this file first, he's been asking for it all morning and silly me forgot to send it up before my assistant Poppy went home for the day."

"Ah, well, I'll just wait in my office then." Hermione pulled her arm away from Luna and continued towards her destination. When she arrived, Hermione saw a letter had been placed on her desk, seeing how Harry was the only one able to get through the locking charms she knew it could only be from him. The letter was simple and to the point.

Dear Mione,

I'm Sorry.

-Harry-

"Liar," Hermione muttered, cleaning the rest of the papers from her desk, organizing them quickly before shrinking them down and placing them into the appropriate filing drawers. Tomorrow was her only day off this week and Hermione was going to take full advantage of being as far away from Malfoy, his mother, and the crazy new adventure that was her job assignment as she could.


End file.
